Seabourn Cruise Line Sojourn

Page 24

Vs. Nieuw Amsterdam

Overview

Seabourn Cruise Line Sojourn	Holland America Line ms Nieuw Amsterdam
Double Occupancy: 450	Double Occupancy: 2106
Gross Tonnage: 32000	Gross Tonnage: 86700
9 decks	11 decks
CDC Score: 90	CDC Score: 98
Launched: 2010	Launched: 2009

Holland America’s newest and largest ship and Seabourn’s Sojourn debuted within days of each other in 2010. But although Holland America specializes in mid-sized vessels (none of which crack the list of the 50 largest cruise ships at sea), the experience aboard the much smaller Seabourn Sojourn is even more intimate and subdued.

Carrying less than a quarter of the passengers, the onboard culture of the two ships is quite different. Aboard Seabourn Sojourn, cruisers tend to be self-starters who snuggle between the covers of a book—good thing since there is a relatively small list of activities scheduled through the day (generally only one activity takes place at any time, and sometimes nothing is on tap). On Nieuw Amsterdam, the list of diversions is long: daily Bingo sessions, a dedicated screening room, a more extensive evening entertainment program, cooking demonstrations, and even a complimentary self-guided tour of the ship’s art collection using an iPod.

On Seabourn Sojourn, we found dining to be excellent, our cabin was spacious with a glam bathroom, and there was never crowding in the public areas, especially at the pool or on sun loungers. On Nieuw Amsterdam food was generally good, but not really excellent (except at the surcharge venue Pinnacle Grill); our inside cabin was barely half the size of our accommodations on Sojourn. However, although both ships cater to an upper-middle class crowd, a cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam is quite a bit less expensive than one on Seabourn Sojourn. Both deliver a solid cruise but we’re inclined to say, in this instance, you get what you pay for.